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BSMS > About BSMS > Contact us > Staff > Dr Leena Al-Hassan

Dr Leena Al-Hassan

Dr Leena Al-Hassan

Dr Leena Al-Hassan (BSc, PhD)

Senior Research Fellow in Global Health and Infection
E: L.Al-Hassan@bsms.ac.uk
T: +44 (0)1273 877817
Location: G.19 Medical Research Building, BN1 9PX

PA: Debbie Miller
E: d.miller@bsms.ac.uk
T: 01273-878771

Area of expertise: Microbiology, Antibiotic resistance, Infectious Diseases, Global Health. 

Research areas: Antibiotic resistance in health-care acquired infections.

BACKGROUND IMAGE FOR PANEL

Biography

Dr Leena Al-Hassan obtained her PhD in Medical Microbiology from the University of Edinburgh in 2013 where she looked at the diversity of Acinetobacter baumannii from cancer patients in Egypt. She has previously worked as a Clinical Researcher at the Children’s Cancer Hospital in Cairo responsible for coordinating clinical protocols and research studies in the infectious diseases team.

Since joining BSMS in 2014, Leena has been working within the Department of Global Health and Infection, developing research projects in antibiotic resistance in low- and middle-income countries.Leena’s research is on the mechanisms of antibiotic resistance in hospital acquired infections, focusing mainly on Acinetobacter baumannii and Klebsiella pneumoniae from North and sub-Saharan Africa. Several research projects have focused mainly on investigating the molecular epidemiology of bacteria from Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia and Cameroon, and capacity building in AMR research and methodology of local researchers in Sudan and Egypt has been an important element of her work.

BACKGROUND IMAGE FOR PANEL

Research

Leena and colleagues from BSMS and Sussex are leading TACTIC: Tackling AMR Challenges through Translational Interdisciplinary Collaborations an international interdisciplinary research network, combining expertise in social science, medicine and microbiology with the common aim of tackling the global spread of Antimicrobial resistance (AMR). TACTIC a collaborative network between BSMS, The Centre for Global Health Policy (CGHP) at the University of Sussex, The Institute of Global Health (ISGlobal) at the University of Barcelona, and the Institute of Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene (IMMIH) at the University of Cologne, the University of Khartoum, Ibn Sina University (Sudan), Sudan University of Science and Technology, the National Cancer Institute of Cairo, and Cairo University.  

Past and current projects:

  • Antibiotic resistance in Gram-negative bacteria: tackling an emerging global health threat
  • Promoting Research Excellence and Capacity Building in Antimicrobial Resistance Research in Sudan
  • Antibiotic resistance in Enterobacteriaceae: a rapidly emerging global health threat
  • Building global surveillance with local data: towards a sustainable global response to antimicrobial resistance (AMR)
  • Investigating infections and antibiotic resistance in Africa
  • Tackling AMR Challenges through Translational Interdisciplinary Collaborations

Collaborating countries:

  • Egypt
  • Sudan
  • Ethiopia
  • Cameroon
  • Germany
  • Spain

Selected publications

L. Al-Hassan, M. Zafer, H. El-Mahallawy (2019). Multiple Sequence Types Responsible for Healthcare-associated Acinetobacter baumannii Dissemination in a Single Centre in Egypt. BMC Infectious Diseases 19(1):829. 

E. Osman, Nagwa el Amin, Leena Al-Hassan, Maowia Mukhtar (2019). High Prevalence of New Delhi Metalo β-Lactamases in Multidrug-Resistant (MDR) Klebsiella pneumoniae Sequence Type 101 in Khartoum Hospitals. Journal of Infection and Public Health 12(1):143. 

E. Awad, M. Mukhtar, L. Al-Hassan (2019). Multi-clonal spread of Klebsiella pneumoniae across hospitals in Khartoum, Sudan. 29th ECCMID, Amsterdam, Netherlands.

L. Al-Hassan, M. Zafer, R. Abdelhamid, H. El-Mahallawy (2017) A. baumannii OXA-378 Multidrug-Resistant Clone Emerges in the Clinical Setting. 27th ECCMID, Vienna, Austria.

L. Al-Hassan, R. AbdelHamid, L. El-Madbouly, H. El Mahallawy & M.J. Newport (2016). Clonal Diversity of blaOXA-51-like genes in Acinetobacter baumannii in Egyptian Hospitals. 26th ECCMID, Amsterdam, Netherlands. 

L. Al-Hassan, A. Opazo, H. El-Mahallawy, & S.G.B. Amyes (2015). The Role of IS6 Family Promoters of blaOXA-58 in Conferring Carbapenem Resistance in Acinetobacter baumannii. Journal of Global Antimicrobial Resistance 3: 5-8.

L. Al-Hassan, A.Opazo-Capurro, H. El Mahallawy, and S.G.B. Amyes (2015). Dissemination of blaPER-like genes in A. baumannii in a single hospital in Egypt. 10th International Symposium on the Biology of Acinetobacter, Athens, Greece. 

L. Al-Hassan, H. El-Mahallawy, & S.G.B. Amyes (2013). Diversity in Acinetobacter baumannii isolates from paediatric cancer patients in Egypt. Clinical Microbiology and Infection 19: 1082-8

L. Al-Hassan, H. El-Mahallawy, & S.G.B. Amyes (2012). First report of blaPER-3 in Acinetobacter baumannii. International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents 41: 93-4.

B. Lopes, L. Al-Hassan, & S.G.B. Amyes (2012). ISAba825 controls the expression of the chromosomal blaOXA-51-like and the plasmid borne blaOXA-58 gene in clinical isolates of Acinetobacter baumannii isolated from the USA. Clinical Microbiology and Infection 18: 446-451.

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